THE THREE GREATEST STATESMEN OF THE MIDDLE PERIOD
HENRY CLAY, THE FOUNDER OF THE WHIG PARTY AND THE GREAT PACIFICATOR
150. The Rise of Henry Clay. Henry Clay was born in Virginia in the year of Burgoyne's surrender (1777). His father was a Baptist preacher, with a fine voice and a graceful way of speaking. He died when Henry was four years old.
The "Mill boy of the Slashes"
Little Henry lived near the "Slashes," the name given to a low, flat region, and went to school in a log cabin. When not at school he worked on the farm, helping to do his share in support of the family. He could be seen walking barefooted behind the plow, or riding the horse with a rope bridle to mill. From this he was called the "Mill boy of the Slashes."
Read books when other boys played
Henry was a raw-boned and awkward lad. The other boys laughed at him, but he read books when not at work, and soon could speak far better than the boys who made fun of him.